Lack of funding, resources available for mental health locally and statewide

December 21, 2012

MARTINSBURG - In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shooting, solutions are sought for all of the societal factors speculated to have influenced the incident, including mental health.

According to Paul Macom, president and CEO of EastRidge Health Systems, a lack of funding reserved for mental health services results in a lack of resources both locally and statewide.

"In West Virginia, as in many states, the services that are available to folks with mental health issues have been cut back and cut back and cut back since 1997," Macom said.

Prior to cutbacks, he said, day-treatment and basic living skills programs afforded mental healthcare providers with daily contact and monitoring of patients.

"We could tell when they began to deteriorate," Macom said.

Two state hospitals - Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Hospital and William R. Sharpe Jr. Hospital - currently serve as the psychiatric facilities for inpatient care, both of which, Macom said, are generally capped at their daily quota. Diversion Hospitals, such as Martinsburg's City Hospital, are employed when the two resources are full. According to Macom, the use of diversion hospitals runs the state $600 to $1,000 per day.

"Cutbacks - governments have to do a balancing act all the time, we know that, mental health has been sort of an easy target," Macom said. "It's the reality of funding priorities and funding availability."

Bill Lucht, business liaison at Blue Ridge Community and Technical College, said he has witnessed the priority shift referenced by Macom.

West Virginia, Lucht said, was one of the first states to have a complete mental health care system, and the first state with a mental health center, which was a free resource at the time.

"That has gone by the wayside, and we don't have that priority now," Lucht said.

Macom said the ideal solution would be to reinstate similar treatment programs and community initiatives offered before cutbacks. However, due to state and federal funding he does not believe this is a realistic outlook.

"I think EastRidge along with other centers in the state do a pretty good job of stretching a buck," Macom said.

Funding for education and outreach, Macom said, is the realistic solution he seeks now. Backing to keep a public relations employee on staff, he said, would aid in reaching out to schools and church groups, facilitating community awareness.

"Put up billboards, do anything," he said.

"There's no voice, there's no insistent compelling voice for those with mental illness," Macom said. "Many people still feel that for the most part, someone experiencing a mental health issue just needs to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps and get it together. Well, it's not that simple."

Lucht, noting that BRCTC has a contract with EastRidge that allows students readily available mental health resources, said a lack of services coupled with the cost of treatment at private practices cause a large population of the Eastern Panhandle to be limited in accessing care.

"Mental health is always at the bottom of the barrel public policy-wise," Lucht said. "It's not attended to appropriately."

"My hope is that two things come out of this, one that we don't further stigmatize folks with mental health issues, secondly that someone takes a look at the cutback of services," Macom said.

State Sen. John Unger said he anticipates changes regarding mental health care with the upcoming legislative session.

"Mental health is definitely going to be on the table for discussion, particularly for children," he said.

Unger said he will be chairing a selected committee comprised of major senate chairs including judiciary, finance, education, health and human resources and regional jail to investigate children and poverty.

"As far as I'm concerned it is going to be a top issue because I'm going to make it a top issue," he said.

Unger said the committee will take a "holistic" approach in tackling the issue, mental health being one component, of povertys impact on children.

Lucht said the most recent crisis that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary is only one aspect of the larger issue regarding limited mental health resources, additionally citing a drug problem locally and epidemic of depression nationally.

"It's just been a deteriorating situation," he said.

According to Macom, though funding is the largest obstacle facing mental health resources, changing public perception remains a crucial stepping stone.

"If we're going to focus on prevention of this sort of a event, we need to make sure we do not stigmatize mental illness," Macom said, referencing the Sandy Hook massacre. "That's only piece of what has happened."